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Greenhouses & Garden Structures

Old window greenhouse construction

17 years ago

Need to find a picture, instructions, or someone who has constructed a greenhouse out of old wood pane windows. I'm getting ready to do that and could use any suggestions that would help make the process smoother. Can't seem to find any info on this. ALL info would be helpful

Lorna

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Comments (3)

garbonzo
17 years ago
I'm in portland, near the rebuilding center. I purchased old windows from them and made this:
http://www.tidalpool.org/gallery/greenhouse/index.html

I built it this spring, but now I need to finish the job, making it wind and waterproof.
davescotta
17 years ago
Lorna, I'm just about 80% done building my "old window" greenhouse . Do you already have your windows or do you need to buy them? I bought old wood-framed "paned" windows from a salvage company near where I live (cost $5/sq/ft. Â but I got lucky and found a 5Âx 8Â, 18 pane window for only $100). Some of the panes needed reputtying (not very difficult to do, bought glazers putty at the hardware store). I wanted the look of an older, established greenhouse; hence the wood-framed paned windows. I also bought an old wooden storm door with 6 windowpanes in it. The whole thing looks cool already and IÂm not done puttying and painting yet. As far as instructions goÂ I didnÂt have any. I just framed it up (a three sided "shed" against the wall of my garage), using pressure treated corner 4'x 4' posts sunk 2 1/2 feet in the ground, a few 2'x 6's and 2'x 4's to tie it all together. I was concerned about the weight of the slider "roof" (read below) being so heavy, so I used 4Âx 4Âs as rafters (probably overkill, but I really really didnÂt want the glass overhead to come falling down on anybody in the future.) Then I set the windows into the walls where I wanted them, and covered the rest of the exterior walls with exterior 5/8" sheathing. I used a sliding patio door (1/2 of a 6Â slider) for the roof, along with two other smaller windows. The total finished size of my greenhouse is only 5Âx9Â Â small, but dandy. IÂd be curious to know what your plans are, how big you are making it and if you already have your windows. Good luck and have funÂ
dave
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Thanks for all the compliments, I've been waiting for this to be made for a while :) Robolady,so funny.....I found the little greenhouse we copied from a link on your site(more window ideas) over a year ago( we replaced our windows 2 years ago,so it might have been that long ago!)so of course you may use the picture and instructions. It was the link to HGTV,Decorating Cents.I painted one side of each window green,then DH attached the 2 windows together with L-brackets,then he measured the width of the open ends to decide how big to make the box. He used old 1"x6"'s for the sides and old plywood for the bottom. I thinned down some white paint to "white-wash" it,and painted the inside of the box with thinned down green paint. Then he screwed old porch spindles(they were already white,a great yard sale find) on for legs on the outside of the box,screwing them from the inside,turning it into a table. Then the windows were fastened to the table with hinges on the outside of the windows to the box. I hope this is a better photo. Here is a link that might be useful: window greenhouse
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This is my first posting in many years but when I saw this I had to tell my story. My husband and I built our second greenhouse last year and just love it. We had new windows installed and used our old windows for the glass. First we built a 12 by 16 frame out of treated lumber with a fiberglass ribbed roof. The first year we used plastic for the sides and the second year after my husbands shoulder surgery we put in the old windows. We hinged three windows for circulation when needed and we should have put in one more. We can fix that later on when the plants are out. Anyway it works like a charm. The benches are made of cement blocks pillars and we put closet wire shelving across the top. The openings of the cement blocks are filled with 2by4's making another shelf for my flats. By using the wire shelving, the plants have lots of drainage and they don't rust. We have the shelving in a U shape. Electric was added this past fall and has been very handy. I used extension cords before and this is much better. During nights when the temps get to freezing, I turn on a radiator type heater and a fan pointed to the ceiling to keep the air circulating. The temp keeps about 10 degrees above the outside temp. I do not use this all winter, just for starting seeds in the spring. Works great for us. This spring we have to paint it. I forgot to mention that we have this connected to a wooden shed that is 12 by 24 feet. Linda44
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Here is another picture of the first one we did, not the fanciest in the world but I just enjoyed the heck out of it. This one was framed out in lumber, the old windows were put in and it was then finished off with corrigated plastic. Were in the lake tahoe area and get quite a snow pack up here in the winter. it held up great! Vickie Here is a link that might be useful:
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We got the door on! I have decided to add a section on to the back and fill it with water jugs. Also, we will make a pull-across tarp-ish thing with 2x4's attached to drag across the inner ceiling on cool nights. Any other ideas? Paint should be happening soon-ish.
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isoldesmama
17 years ago
We're making a greenhouse with vintage windows and a vintage door. There are instructions in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Color-Better-Gardens-Paperback/dp/0696215349/sr=1-31/qid=1157761730/ref=sr_1_31/104-2459923-4984712?ie=UTF8&s=books

It looks like it's not available at amazon.com, but you might be able to find it at another location. Most of the book is about using color combination of flowers in the garden, but there is a brief section at the back about garden structures. The window GH they show is painted purple. It looks really cute, and I can't wait to see if completed.

Good luck --

Janice T.

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